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Old Jan 1, 2018, 5:20 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: OWBA
Welcome to the thread. This is a continuation of the highly popular 2017 Tier Point thread. We keep track of other prices, as well as useful reference information for those planning tier point runs.

Please read the first few posts in this thread first as it contains lots of information which may answer your question.

This is a community-maintained wiki post. Please add important information to it or correct outdated information by clicking the "Edit" button below.

Current Promotions of Interest
Sale Fares
  • from JER to PDX IKN8T1S6 reported in this post, e.g. PDX £1,082, needs to be booked by 8 May, see linked post for details

Advanced Promotion Fares
  • from OTP to PHX ILN8C8S4 reported here, e.g. PHX - £1,296, see linked post for details
  • from AMS to BKK INCEU60 reported here, e.g. BKK - £1,340, see linked post for details

See here in post #9 for a 2018 archive of exEU sale fare, and see this post in the 2017 thread for last years’ archive of exEU sale fares.

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This thread lists attractive tier point (TP) runs under £3 per TP grouped within different (departure) geographies

Please note that current availability is not guaranteed and all prices include taxes. Please use the following convention when adding tier point runs to this wiki post:
Date fare checked Price per Tier Point Total Price Total Tier Points Route Booking Classes Booking Channel Credit Notes (if applicable) Airlines

Please remember to:
  • Convert currencies to GBP, rounding to the nearest pound.
  • Post full routes and full booking classes.
  • Note any restrictions on booking in the Notes section.
  • List in order of price per tier point within the relevant departure area.

Please see the links at the bottom of the wiki for archives of runs from previous years.

From Europe
Code:
3Feb 200TPs DUB-LHR-HEL/HEL-LHR all I class ba.com
From North, Central and South America

23Sep £1.48/TP £650 (US$853) 440 TPs JFK-CLT/BOS-LAX-LAS and return all I class aa.com
6Sep £1.50/TP US$457 240TPs RIC-CLT-DCA-BOS, BOS-LGA/PHL-CLT-RIC all I class aa.com
Jan/Feb wide open £1.94/TP £700(US$883) 360 TPs SEA-CLT-MCO-PHX-SEA all I class aa.com



From Middle East, Asia and Australasia
18Jan £1.58/TP £883 560 CMB-xHKG-CGK return I cathaypacific.com ermen CX
28Feb £1.44/TP £575 400 MCT-DOH-BKK-DOH-MCT A/R/R/A travel.americanexpress.co.uk QR
21Feb £1.53/TP £860 560 HKG-CMB-MEL return I Expedia.com.hk Firemin UL
16Mar £1.22/TP £687 560 CGK-CMB-DXB return I srilankan.com Firemin UL
01Apr £0.87/TP £314 360 PEN-KUL-KTM return Malaysian.com cgtechuk MH
01Apr £1.19/TP £335 280 KUL-PER return Malaysian.com cgtechuk MH
01Apr £1.28/TP £335 360 PEN-KUL-PER return Malaysian.com cgtechuk MH
05Apr £2.00/TP £320 160 CAN-HKG-TPE return CathayPacific.com littlevoices CX/KA (flexible fare, bookable up to 24 hours in advance, allows stopovers, book with CX directly)

From Africa


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Need a year-end TP run (ex-LON) to make / retain status?
Some tips for searching for the year-end TP run for newcomers, the below is indicative only, but hopefully provides a bit of guidance for relatively straightforward runs ex-LON. Some information on how to use ITA matrix is in post #4 of this thread (or just click here) along with these ideas, might come in handy. Feel free to share results, problems or general questions in the thread as these may not always work and there might be better deals out there...

For overnight trips remember to check BA and Iberia for their flights and hotel option as well, can get hotel for almost no extra cost at times

Need 80 TPs or fewer
Club Europe return somewhere close by is best - DUB, AMS and JER usually cheapest along with UK domestic returns. Additionally you may find that trips in to mainland Europe require a one night stay whereas the cheapest domestic CE returns do not have any minimum stay so can be booked as a same day return. If doing a back to back AMS and JER can be easier than DUB for an immediate turnaround - more information can be found in the back to back thread listed in the forum dashboard. The BA.com low fare finder can be very useful.

If you need as few as 45 TPs you might consider booking economy flights and hoping for a proactive online upgrade offer - but they're not guaranteed to materialise (so not one if you have no more time left in your TP collection year). Alternatively, booking a return to one of the 40 tier point destinations with one way in CE and the return in ET (or vice versa if cheaper). UK domestic route, Bilbao, Jersey and Amsterdam seem the most cost effective for this.

Need 85-120 TPs
Iberia flights via MAD to regional Spanish airports will get you 120 TPs as the domestic Spanish flights are 20 TPs in business. Under £300 including hotel can be available. Check BIO, GRX, VLC, BCN, SVQ etc. Example here

Need 125-160 TPs
Take a look at the shorthaul plus routes earning 80 TPs each way in business listed in the first post of this thread, MLA, IST, HEL and RAK are usually available. If time sensitive take a look at BA flight and hotel option to HEL, where you can usually get the last BA flight out on a Saturday, airport hotel and first return Sunday for well under £500.

Alternative options include positioning to JER and flying JER-LGW-XXX (AMS usually works well and avoids switching airports).

Need more than 160 TPs
You'll most likely be heading north then - OSL or VNO via HEL will get you 240 TPs, as will JER-LGW/LHR-HEL e.g. LHR-HEL-OSL for £520.
DUB-LHR-HEL return (or return to LHR) is currently a very efficient way of hitting 200-240 TPs
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Historic information
2017 Archive
2016 Archive
2015 Archive (6 months Jul to Dec)
2015 Archive (6 months Jan to Jun)
2014 Archive
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BA Tier Point Runs | 2018 master thread

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Old Jan 3, 2018, 10:25 am
  #46  
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Originally Posted by florens
KARFA, are you sure AY‘s HEL-KEF service earns 140TPs? The calculator says 40TP.
It's well below 2000 miles. Actually I haven't listed it as one which earns 140 TPs. The S7 DME-KEF does earn 140 TPs, but on the diagram the route line happens to pass over HEL so are you thinking it looks like HEL-KEF does just based on the diagram?

Originally Posted by KARFA
Short haul routes earning long haul TPs:
There are a handful of European based short haul routes which are actually longer than 2,000 miles and therefore earn long haul TPs (i.e. 140 TPs one way in business). These are:
  • On BA - LHR to/from - Moscow (DME)
  • On AY - HEL to/from - Dubai (DXB), Fuerteventura (FUE), Lanzarote (ACE), Las Palmas (LPA), Lisbon (LIS), Madeira Funchal (FNC), Malaga (AGP), Tel Aviv (TLV), Tenerife-North (TFN), and Tenerife-South (TFS)
  • On IB - MAD to/from - Moscow (DME)
  • On S7 - DME to/from - Alicante (ALC), Ibiza (IBZ), Malaga (AGP), Reykjavík–Keflavík (KEF) and Valencia (VLC)


BA: LHR - DME
IB: MAD - DME
AY: HEL - ACE AGP DXB FNC FUE LIS LPA TFN TFS TLV
S7: DME - AGP ALC IBZ KEF VLC
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Old Jan 3, 2018, 10:26 am
  #47  
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Originally Posted by KARFA
It's well below 2000 miles. Actually I haven't listed it as one which earns 140 TPs. The S7 DME-KEF does earn 140 TPs, but on the diagram the route line happens to pass over HEL so are you thinking it looks like HEL-KEF does just based on the diagram?
Oh yes indeed. I assumed it was KEF-HEL because I didn‘t know S7 served this route and didn‘t check the actual list. Sorry.
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Old Jan 3, 2018, 10:30 am
  #48  
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Originally Posted by florens


Oh yes indeed. I assumed it was KEF-HEL because I didn‘t know S7 served this route and didn‘t check the actual list. Sorry.
No problem. I checked the calculator and gcmap first and saw it was well below 2000 miles as you spotted, was concerned I had included it by accident!
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Old Jan 3, 2018, 10:35 am
  #49  
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
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Originally Posted by wonderman
Those fares are still knocking around, you can also do HEL-LHR-KEF-LHR-HEL for around £600, or certain combinations starting or ending in london for £400-£500

the Kef fare is a great option for anyone with a UK Amex platinum with the £200 off £600 offer via amex travel.
Wow thanks for mentioning the platinum discount! So just looking at LHR-MAD-SVQ coming in at £257, for 3 people is £771-200 = £571 which seems pretty good to me!

Do I just go ahead and book via the Amex website and the credit will automatically get applied? Also, is there any potential issue with booking via Amex instead of direct? I've never booked flights via Amex before.

Also, Amex shows £257 whereas ITAMatrix shows £273. What gives?

Oh, and lastly...can my additional card holder also get £200 off for a separate trip?

Last edited by benjai; Jan 3, 2018 at 10:41 am
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Old Jan 3, 2018, 10:37 am
  #50  
 
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Overaken by earlier posts.
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Old Jan 3, 2018, 10:57 am
  #51  
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
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Originally Posted by florens
KARFA, are you sure AY‘s HEL-KEF service earns 140TPs? The calculator says 40TP.
It seems a bit unfair that HEL-LHR-KEF is 160 but HEL-KEF is only 40...
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Old Jan 3, 2018, 10:57 am
  #52  
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Originally Posted by benjai
Wow thanks for mentioning the platinum discount! So just looking at LHR-MAD-SVQ coming in at £257, for 3 people is £771-200 = £571 which seems pretty good to me!

Do I just go ahead and book via the Amex website and the credit will automatically get applied? Also, is there any potential issue with booking via Amex instead of direct? I've never booked flights via Amex before.

Also, Amex shows £257 whereas ITAMatrix shows £273. What gives?

Oh, and lastly...can my additional card holder also get £200 off for a separate trip?
For amex discounts you usually have to have signed up for these in advance. Won’t discount automatically unless you have.
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Old Jan 3, 2018, 11:13 am
  #53  
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
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Apologies for posting an 'amateur' question. I am only a Blue member but 20 Tier points from Bronze. I have just booked 8 flights (2 single, 3 return). My tier points will expire on the 8 April 2018. The only flight that I will gain Tier points from leaves on the 25 April 2018 to HK (I have booked others that leave before but I don’t gain any Tier points perhaps because they were through onbusiness). Presumably there is nothing I can do about this right? Apart from booking a new flight that I will gain Tier points? Sadly I have just booked so many, there's no time!
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Old Jan 3, 2018, 11:20 am
  #54  
 
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Originally Posted by VictoriaCL
Apologies for posting an 'amateur' question. I am only a Blue member but 20 Tier points from Bronze. I have just booked 8 flights (2 single, 3 return). My tier points will expire on the 8 April 2018. The only flight that I will gain Tier points from leaves on the 25 April 2018 to HK (I have booked others that leave before but I don’t gain any Tier points perhaps because they were through onbusiness). Presumably there is nothing I can do about this right? Apart from booking a new flight that I will gain Tier points? Sadly I have just booked so many, there's no time!
Unless you somehow manage to get enough TPs to take you to silver by then (currently on 280 TP means you need 320 - it's only two weekend trips to somewhere like Reykjavik, Istanbul or Helsinki in business) I wouldn't fight too hard for bronze and put the HK trip (you don't say which class) towards next year's earnings.

Istanbul from 3-4 March, staying at the Avicenna, would be £338.

Bucharest from 6-8 April, staying in the NH, would be £411.

Last edited by Cymro; Jan 3, 2018 at 11:29 am
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Old Jan 3, 2018, 1:59 pm
  #55  
 
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Originally Posted by dutch_122
catharsis,
Yes, you can book the flights mentioned above on BA primes, no problem at all.


NA-Flyer,
Yes, you can make stopover in NYC or LAX.
Originally Posted by Frequent flyer 101
Do you mean cai-lhr-jfk-lax-hnl works? If so, how do you get the lax-hnl flight on a tp earning flight?
Originally Posted by rossmacd
It is possible, albeit depending on availability which seems to be quite restrictive.
Dutch, Ross, Is it safe to assume that if I can piece together the itinerary I want using ExpertFlyer and confirming I availability segment by segment (and on the BA codeshares where necessary) that I can book an itinerary which combinesmaximising TPs using AA flights internal to NA with a stopover in Dublin(or london) and a stopover in LAX along something like the following lines?
Cai-LHR(STOPOVER, surface segment) DUB-LHR-JFK-LAX-HNL//HNL-LAX(stopover)LAX-JFK-LHR-CAI ?

I believe that is what you both stated but the stopover piece and the routing piece were answered slightly separately and I'm seeking to combine them by maximising TPs AND adding a stopover.

Thanks in advance for any help clarifying,
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Old Jan 3, 2018, 2:07 pm
  #56  
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
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Posts: 11
Would like to book this routing

Sorry I am new to this web site and teh group - how would I go about booking the routing outlined for Cairo to HonoLulu


Originally Posted by E14 26C
It was refilled on the 1st November with this nasty addendum added into the fare rules AND
IF THE FARE COMPONENT INCLUDES TRAVEL WITHIN THE UNITED
STATES
THEN THAT TRAVEL MUST BE ON
ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING
ANY BA FLIGHT
ANY IB FLIGHT
ANY AS FLIGHT
ANY HA FLIGHT.
AND
IF THE FARE COMPONENT INCLUDES TRAVEL BETWEEN CANADA AND
THE UNITED STATES
THEN THAT TRAVEL MUST BE ON
ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING
ANY BA FLIGHT
ANY IB FLIGHT.
AND
IF THE FARE COMPONENT INCLUDES TRAVEL BETWEEN HAWAII AND
CONTIGUOUS U.S.A./ALASKA
THEN THAT TRAVEL MUST BE ON
ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING
ANY BA FLIGHT
ANY IB FLIGHT.
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Old Jan 3, 2018, 2:09 pm
  #57  
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Programs: British Airways, United
Posts: 11
Originally Posted by NA-Flyer
If I recall the old fare correctly, the new fare increased almost $ 700 which is not bad after all.
Any idea what the cost would be in First Class
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Old Jan 3, 2018, 2:17 pm
  #58  
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Originally Posted by Franklae
Sorry I am new to this web site and teh group - how would I go about booking the routing outlined for Cairo to HonoLulu
If you look at post #34 it provides an example routing. If you are familiar with matrix you can try to replicate this. Once you have the flights you want then you can phone up BA to book. Just code the flight numbers and fare code given. Usually the price is very much the same as that quoted on matrix five or take a few pounds.
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Old Jan 3, 2018, 2:21 pm
  #59  
 
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Originally Posted by Franklae
Any idea what the cost would be in First Class
About USD$ 7300 and CAI-LHR-CAI will be always in J.
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Old Jan 3, 2018, 2:22 pm
  #60  
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Originally Posted by Franklae
Any idea what the cost would be in First Class
Using the example dates from above it’s £1672 in J and £4080 in F.
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